Ubuntu phone OS announced, first devices shipping in early 2014 — As already teased and promised, today Canonical is taking the wraps off the mobile version of Ubuntu, which is built around the existing Android kernel and drivers, but doesn't use a Java Virtual Machine and promises to use “the full power of the phone.”

Tumblr: David Karp's $800 Million Art Project — David Karp is in the midst of a rite of passage that seems universal for the young tycoons of the Internet's social era: He's buying himself a proper swank pad. And like Mark Zuckerberg's luxe but dowdy $6 million manse in Palo Alto …

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt to visit North Korea — SEOUL, South Korea — Google's (GOOG) executive chairman is preparing to travel to one of the last frontiers of cyberspace: North Korea. — Eric Schmidt will be traveling to North Korea on a private trip led by former New Mexico …

Samsung Loses Bid to Seal Sales Data in Apple Dispute — Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) lost a bid to keep sales data of some of its products sealed in a U.S. patent dispute with Apple Inc. — U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose yesterday denied Samsung's request to keep …

Intel's Push Into Web TV Hits Delays — Intel Corp.'s effort to develop an Internet-based TV service and associated hardware is taking longer than expected, people familiar with the company's plans say, in part due to delays in reaching content agreements with media companies.

Putting 2012 To Bed — I'm typing this on my phone as our plane is starting to descend into the NY metro area. We will land at JFK within the hour. — I've wanted to write a year end post for days. I actually wrote one and stored it as a draft. But it comes across as a whiny complaint about the s**tty year that 2012 was.